conversion therapy
noun
plural conversion therapies
: the use of any of various methods (such as aversive stimulation or religious counseling) in an attempt to change a person's sexual orientation to heterosexual or to change a person's gender identity to correspond to the sex the person was identified as having at birth
Note: Conversion therapy is generally regarded as having no scientific basis and as being both ineffective and harmful.
Conversion therapy is both pointless and painful. At its best, it can inflict considerable psychological damage on a child without changing their sexual orientation or gender identity whatsoever. At its worst, it can lead to suicide …—
Samantha Allen
Samantha AllenMomentum has been building in legislative sessions this spring for the bans, which prohibit state-licensed mental health professionals from practicing conversion therapy for anyone under 18.—Susan Miller
Susan Millercalled also reparative therapy
Examples of conversion therapy in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
And major medical groups have repudiated conversion therapy as ineffective and harmful.
—Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 1 Apr. 2026
Not everyone who undergoes conversion therapy survives.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2026
That's what happened with the conversion therapy bill, as lawmakers in both chambers overrode his veto.
—Jenny Porter Tilley, Indianapolis Star, 31 Mar. 2026
The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a Colorado ban on conversion therapy violates the First Amendment, potentially invalidating other state laws like California’s that have long prohibited the practice as junk science.
—Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 31 Mar. 2026
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Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 1 Apr. 2026
Not everyone who undergoes conversion therapy survives.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2026
That's what happened with the conversion therapy bill, as lawmakers in both chambers overrode his veto.
—Jenny Porter Tilley, Indianapolis Star, 31 Mar. 2026
The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a Colorado ban on conversion therapy violates the First Amendment, potentially invalidating other state laws like California’s that have long prohibited the practice as junk science.
—Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 31 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for conversion therapy
Cite this Entry
“Conversion therapy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conversion%20therapy. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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